- Joined
- Mar 9, 2011
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
I am currently (technically) a high school senior dual enrolled at a community college and poised to attend a rather mediocre flagship state school this fall. (This could be placed in hSDN, but I felt it could also be appropriately placed here. I want to graduate in 2014, if possible.) For the past nine or so months, I have been making serious considerations on a regular basis about my career path. Im at the point where if someone asks me what I plan to do for a living, major in, etc., all I have to offer is Im not sure yet. When I was in middle school, I professed a desire to be a pediatric neurosurgeon, but that idea has given way to doubt.
For a while, I overlooked medicine as a possibility, but now Im cautiously reconsidering it. The following are my main issues:
1. Time. At least four years for undergrad, four years for med school, then at least three years for residency. If I went directly through that process with no breaks in between, Id be finished with my education (the literal portion, at least) at 27 at the earliest. Im not overly concerned with getting through the system as quickly as possible, and I know that 27 isnt old in the slightest, but still. That is quite a while, a good chunk of my youth.
2. Cost. Med school is a huge investment, and I am highly debt averse. Theres no trust fund for me, and the amount of debt that med school involves would mean that the debt would follow me for a good portion of my life, decreasing my attractiveness to future creditors and limiting the cash flow to other expenses. Theres also the opportunity cost I would incur by choosing this path.
3. Lifestyle, both during and after school. I worry that with the salary of a resident (usually 40-50K, please correct me if necessary) and the monthly cost of repaying loans, Ill be living like a student for a very long while. I also would like to eventually become a mother, and Im concerned about both the amount of time Ill be able to devote to my kids and the reality that infertility decreases with age. (I know, Im only 17. But by the time Im finished with med school or close to it, this could be a real issue.)
4. The future of medicine. Im currently trying to become informed on political and economic issues, though I still have a ways to go. Im aware, though, that the changes that are happening to the way health care is handled in America could have a negative effect on not only doctors, but the allied health professions as well. My primary reason for becoming a doctor would not be monetary, but if Im going to spend that much effort, time, and money to be a doctor, Id like to be adequately compensated. (Is that so wrong? Knock me upside the head if necessary!) It seems that doctors (especially in primary care) are being stretched more and having to worry more about reimbursement.
And yet, despite all of this, I still find myself attached to the possibility of being a doctor. I find medicine and human physiology really fascinating; I see medicine as something that I could eventually love, even though I have very little clinical experience to determine such a thing.
There are the obvious options of nursing, PA, podiatry, optometry, etc. There would be less sacrifice involved in those paths, but I place a high value on knowledge. Im not sure Id be satisfied knowing that I could have known more and did more.
Some might say that all my worrying is premature, that I wont need to be thinking about all of this for a while. Honestly, I wonder how that can be true when I think about how competitive admissions are and all the things it takes to be a competitive applicant (i.e. recommendations, test scores, GPA, clinical experience, volunteering, etc.). Isnt it true that the more time I have to get these things together, the better? Again, correct me if Im wrong.
Ive considered possibilities outside of medicine (e.g careers in engineering, math, physics, computer science), but none of them combine the natural interest and security that medicine does for me.
I was going to say more, but after looking at the novel I just wrote, its probably better that Ive drawn a blank. I truly appreciate anyone who took the time to read all (or even some!) of that. As Ive been brooding over this for a long time, I appreciate any and all wisdom you guys have to offer!
For a while, I overlooked medicine as a possibility, but now Im cautiously reconsidering it. The following are my main issues:
1. Time. At least four years for undergrad, four years for med school, then at least three years for residency. If I went directly through that process with no breaks in between, Id be finished with my education (the literal portion, at least) at 27 at the earliest. Im not overly concerned with getting through the system as quickly as possible, and I know that 27 isnt old in the slightest, but still. That is quite a while, a good chunk of my youth.
2. Cost. Med school is a huge investment, and I am highly debt averse. Theres no trust fund for me, and the amount of debt that med school involves would mean that the debt would follow me for a good portion of my life, decreasing my attractiveness to future creditors and limiting the cash flow to other expenses. Theres also the opportunity cost I would incur by choosing this path.
3. Lifestyle, both during and after school. I worry that with the salary of a resident (usually 40-50K, please correct me if necessary) and the monthly cost of repaying loans, Ill be living like a student for a very long while. I also would like to eventually become a mother, and Im concerned about both the amount of time Ill be able to devote to my kids and the reality that infertility decreases with age. (I know, Im only 17. But by the time Im finished with med school or close to it, this could be a real issue.)
4. The future of medicine. Im currently trying to become informed on political and economic issues, though I still have a ways to go. Im aware, though, that the changes that are happening to the way health care is handled in America could have a negative effect on not only doctors, but the allied health professions as well. My primary reason for becoming a doctor would not be monetary, but if Im going to spend that much effort, time, and money to be a doctor, Id like to be adequately compensated. (Is that so wrong? Knock me upside the head if necessary!) It seems that doctors (especially in primary care) are being stretched more and having to worry more about reimbursement.
And yet, despite all of this, I still find myself attached to the possibility of being a doctor. I find medicine and human physiology really fascinating; I see medicine as something that I could eventually love, even though I have very little clinical experience to determine such a thing.
There are the obvious options of nursing, PA, podiatry, optometry, etc. There would be less sacrifice involved in those paths, but I place a high value on knowledge. Im not sure Id be satisfied knowing that I could have known more and did more.
Some might say that all my worrying is premature, that I wont need to be thinking about all of this for a while. Honestly, I wonder how that can be true when I think about how competitive admissions are and all the things it takes to be a competitive applicant (i.e. recommendations, test scores, GPA, clinical experience, volunteering, etc.). Isnt it true that the more time I have to get these things together, the better? Again, correct me if Im wrong.
Ive considered possibilities outside of medicine (e.g careers in engineering, math, physics, computer science), but none of them combine the natural interest and security that medicine does for me.
I was going to say more, but after looking at the novel I just wrote, its probably better that Ive drawn a blank. I truly appreciate anyone who took the time to read all (or even some!) of that. As Ive been brooding over this for a long time, I appreciate any and all wisdom you guys have to offer!
